In this post, I will display (in a semi-random order) photos that I have taken in the Netherlands. Each photo will be accompanied by a caption that will be more or less technical depending on the content.
This windmill is in Delft by the new train station. I posted this because it answered a question I had back in winter quarter's structural analysis class. We were estimating the weight of a building when I curiously asked, "When will we ever have to lift a building?" Six months later, I stumbled across the answer. Engineers had to lift this windmill in order to put an underground rail tunnel under it.
This is a roundabout. These are a valuable tool for maintaining flow while calming traffic for pedestrians and bikes. It is hard to see, but this photo shows that bikes, pedestrians, cars, and public transit can coexist in a roundabout.
The main focus of this picture is the road marking. These are called "shark teeth." When the teeth are pointed at you, you have to yield to traffic. The Netherlands uses these to replace stop signs because stopping is less efficient and isn't necessary when the intersection is empty.
The Netherlands often uses bollards as semi-permeable barriers to prohibit through movement of cars while still allowing passage of bikes and peds. There is also an automatic barrier in this picture that raises during certain hours to block car traffic.
This is a wait countdown at a traffic signal. These would be useful in the US!
This is how the Nike European HQ informed people that this space was motorcycle parking.
This is a 3-level bike parking facility in the Utrecht train station. It is considered a "small" facility with the capacity for 4,200 bikes. It is mostly lit by natural light coming from windows in the staircase above the garage.
This sign shows the Rij (row) of the bike facility along with the Vrij (free) spaces. The free spaces are refreshed every 15 seconds according to the occupancy of sensors in the bike racks.
This person added a flower-wrapped basket to her bike to easily identify it. People often add objects to find their bikes in the endless abyss of bike parking.
The main focus of this photo is the concrete rail going down the stairs. There is a notch on each side of the rail to assist people in rolling their bikes down the stairs. Notice that the staircase is wide enough to have four people moving their bikes down the stairs with room to spare.
These are the OV-fiets. They are the bikes used in the main bike sharing program in the Netherlands. People will often have two bikes at two different stations if they regularly ride in different towns. Since parking is limited, the Netherlands has suggested that the public use one bike. Since bringing your bike on the train costs 6 euros, the OV-fiets program is a steal at 3.15 per day.
These are the stairs with the windows that I mentioned a few photos ago.
Here is a random UFO that "crashed" in Utrecht. It was meant to be a temporary art display, but people loved it so much that the city decided to keep it.
This is a traffic calming feature called a bayonet. It reduces the width of the road, causing traffic to slow.
This is De Oversteek. It is a ped-bike bridge that opened last summer. It rotates counterclockwise to allow boats to pass.
Here is a pair of tube sensors at the end of De Oversteek. Normally, only one tube is necessary for counts. After some discussion with the professors, I concluded that the second tube is used to tell direction and possibly velocity.
Here is an area where the same street has opposing one-way sections that meet. The raised platforms and bollards force the cars to turn left or right. The use of bollards allow for bike and ped passage through the entire intersection.
Here is a protected intersection on a road that has separated sections for each mode of transportation. This is multi-modal interaction done right! I wish that planners had though of a less cluttered way to signalize the intersection.
This is a picture of Delft from the top of the New Church tower. If you look closely, you can see IKEA in the background. The reason why I like this picture so much is because it shows you the bike network in a way that you can only see from the sky: as lines of trees. As I looked around, I followed the various routes that I took to my usual locations.
This picture shows a broken segment of green due to construction. When it is finished, it will get trees and become part of the green network.
How could I NOT include a bird's-eye view of a canal?
Here is a bridge that has just opened to allow boat passage. This bridge is interesting because it is a cantilever. Most of the boat bridges I have seen are two-part or rotating.
Here is the organ in the Old Church. It is the most beautiful instrument I have ever seen. The sound that it produced was majestic. European organ players come from all over to play it. The Old Church's organ is considered the premier organ in Europe. If it didn't have over 2,200 pipes, I would consider taking it as a souvenir.
Here is a picture of the Old Church tower. As you can see, it is not exactly straight. This reminds me of something else that leans in Europe... Watch out Italy!
As a reward for making it through this post, here's a piece of pie. You earned it! :)
